The use of collapsible structures is desired in a number of industries. One use of collapsible structures that can be found in many industries is for protection from the elements or weather, such as the sun, wind or rain. For example, in the marine industry, watercraft users utilize structures sometimes called bimini tops to protect the occupants of the watercraft from exposure to the elements. Other examples include tents and canopies.
As with most weather related accessories, the ability to employ the structure in undesirable weather and collapse and store the structure in desirable weather is advantageous. In the marine industry, the ability to easily deploy, properly tension the fabric and stow a structure, such as a bimini, is additionally advantageous for variety of other reasons such as when going under a low bridge, when in a boat lift, when adding a boat cover, etc. Therefore, there is a need for a structure that can be moved between a deployed position and stowed position quickly and easily.
In the marine industry, some current biminis use a series of ‘U’ shaped structural members. These biminis can be difficult and/or inconvenient to stow on a marine vehicle or, when removed from the marine vehicle, in storage because they can be large, heavy and/or have an awkward shape. Some such biminis use tubing and hardware such as pull pins, sliding sleeves, inserts, screws or freely articulating hinges. Such hardware is not ideal. Pull pins and sliding sleeves often require the user to both hold the bimini in the desired location and secure the hardware. Pull pins can also be easily lost or require a lanyard which can get tangled. Freely articulating hinges can allow a lot of play or movement when deployed and the watercraft is in motion. These disadvantages are not only inconvenient, but can also create safety issues. Further, sometimes the optimum place for such hardware from an engineering or production perspective is a less than ideal place from a convenience or ease of use perspective. If it is desired to remove the bimini from the boat or to detach the bimini, but store it on the boat, the bimini will take up a large amount of space and could even be a tripping hazard.
Further, the boating industry includes many recreational users. Recreational users may choose not to deploy such covers or enclosures or, worse yet, deploy them contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, so as to avoid frustration and difficulty. Such use can be unsafe and/or result in damage to the cover or enclosure.
As such, there is a need for a frame with hardware that is easy and quick to engage and disengage, thereby making the frame easier and quicker to deploy and collapse.
Although the above example describes a type of a bimini top, other marine tops and accessories such as covers have similar issues as do other collapsible accessories in many different industries.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can lead to certain other objectives. Other objects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in this summary and descriptions of the disclosed embodiment, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will be apparent from the above as taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.